Erin C. Messer - Bay Area Current

Cleaning Up Poop: The Human Labor Behind Waymo

Human feces isn’t even the nastiest thing they’ve found in the backseat.

Stephanie Reist Oct 9, 2026

Politics

Meet the Grandmas and Grandpas Building Tenant Power

When management neglected their building, elderly, majority-Chinese tenants in Downtown Oakland got organized and fought back.

Tim Tia Oct 9, 2026

Tech

AI Startup Launches Campaign To Exploit Humans, Ethically

Contrary to what Scale's 7-figure ad campaign claims, the company's ethos is anything but “centering humans.”

Wendy Liu Oct 1, 2026

Erin C. Messer lives in San Francisco with her husband and four cats. When she’s not slinging books at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, you’ll find her reading, writing, or learning metalwork/jewelry making.

1 article

Culture

Our Favorite Books of 2025

A City Lights bookseller tells us what we should all be reading.

Erin C. Messer Dec 24, 2025